Hard candies, that is, solid individual pieces which fit comfortably into the mouth, are of course well known. It is also known in general to make hard candies which are of a single uniform color, or which exhibit two or more colors.
Hard candies are traditionally considered to consist of supercooled, supersaturated sugar or sugar alcohol solutions and to exhibit the characteristics of amorphous solids. The moisture content of such traditional hard candies is generally in the range of from 1/2-3 1/2%. Dairy-based hard candies may also include various ingredients such as cream, butter and milk, which contribute to properties such as mouth feel and flavor. Fat based hard candies, sometimes known as toffee, may contain vegetable, dairy or animal fats to provide a rich food mouth feel. If a suitable gelling or aerating agent is added to hard candy, and the moisture content is raised to the range of 6-9%, a so-called "chew" results. As used herein, the term "hard candy" refers to all of the foregoing food products.
Hard candies which are comprised of two or more regions of differing colors can be made by any of various depositing technologies. Such technologies often have involved complex machinery and processing conditions.
It has become desirable in the field of hard candies to be able to produce a product which exhibits a plurality of segments of differing colors, wherein the segments are not all identical to each other but exhibit a variety of widths. By "segment" is meant herein a region of one color which is generally triangular in shape, extending from a point on the surface of the hard candy and gradually increasing in width as it extends toward the outer edge of the candy piece, in which the color extends through the piece to the other surface. It would be desirable to be able to form a candy piece wherein the widths of various of the segments at the outer edge of the candy differ one from another, and especially wherein the widths of adjacent segments at the outer edge differ. Hard candy having such an appearance is believed to provide an interesting and visually pleasing appearance to the customer and consumer.